Even with Conor Casey back in the starting lineup, the Rapids struggled again on the road.

This installment of Rapids player ratings brought to you by Andrew Villegas, a Colorado-native journalist based in Washington, D.C., who also writes for the blog The Yanks Are Coming Find Andrew on Twitter @ReporterAndrew.

Having 10 days off can do one of two things to a club. Played right, it can refresh them — leading to sharper play both mentally and physically. But it also is a double-edged sword. Sometimes it can lull a team to sleep. Without the competitive touches of play and the sharpening eat-or-be-eaten mentality, skills suffer even after only a few days off. Soccer players know this, and the Rapids learned the hard way Wednesday night that the latter is all too real a possibility, especially on the back end of a three-game road trip when they fell 2-0 to a streaking D.C. United club that is third in the East.

In the front, the Rapids offense continues to sputter. Lots of good possessions were wasted, faded into the D.C. night as Conor Casey and Tony Cascio couldn’t quite hookup. The two obviously haven’t had much time together to figure out just how they will play off each other, though Casey’s holdup play showed a touch of what the Rapids missed while he was sidelined. And both teams suffered the pitch, which was slippery after a couple days of rain at RFK stadium in east D.C.

Things get no easier for the Rapids as they return home to face first-place side Sporting K.C., but the Rapids must be hoping home is sweet as the road is long.

A winning road trip was out of reach of Jaime Castrillon and the Rapids.

Matt Pickens, GK: 7
Basically fantastic work from Pickens who kept the Rapids in the game with three quick saves in succession. Pickens commands the backline who look finally ready to gel under Pickens’ steadying hand. If not for his saves, the scoreline might have read more like 4-0.

Hunter Freeman, DEF: 5.5
Freeman had his best game since getting his shot at the starting XI. He often got forward well and was solid in defense as he seems to be picking up the speed of the MLS game, where the physicality suits him fine.

Tyrone Marshall, DEF: 5
Took a silly yellow card late as he still looks a step (or two) slow and a little loss playing second fiddle to Drew Moor, who is tasked with snuffing out the fastest imminent dangers. Still, he played better than he had in the previous two games when he looked as though he was better suited as an emergency substitute than a starting CB.

Drew Moor, DEF: 5.5
Unfortunately, when you’re the general of the backline, most goals than come through the middle of the field are your fault, which is what happened when Moor got sucked into the middle of the field and didn’t call out to Jeff Larentowicz to follow Dwayne De Rosario’s run, resulting in the first goal. Used his head and body well in defense otherwise, but wasn’t enough to shut United down.

Luis Zapata, DEF: 4.5
Found himself badly out of position on second D.C. United goal of night as his entire back line had moved up to trap Hamdi Salihi offside on rebound. Zapata also looked out of place and his usual dangerous runs up the wing were mostly stifled by Robbie Russell. Zapata brings a great speediness so sorely lacking from Colorado’s backline, but he also lacks a little size to match up in the physical MLS.

Jeff Larentowicz, MF: 4.5
At least once a game, typically, Larentowicz wows me with a turn or a hard-nosed play. Wednesday night, Larentowicz was a ghost for long stretches and, similarly to the Casey-Omar Cummings situation at forward, looked longingly for a partner to play to in the middle to no avail. This typically made him overplay the ball or hold it for long stretches with little positive movement forward. Still, his best work was in the back on this night.

Brian Mullan, MF: 3.5
Struggled to find the rhythm of the game and thusly found little of the ball. His signature crosses were totally absent and his hard-nosed tackling was also nowhere to be found; unfortunately, when Mullan has a bad game, the Rapids usually do too.

Jaime Castrillón, MF: 5
When you’re the midfield’s catalyst and you have the best header in the team’s midfield, you are often called on to hook play up, which he didn’t do Wednesday. Some say the language barrier between Castrillón — and Martín Rivero for that matter — and the rest of the team is hurting their play, but Castrillón looks as though he’s a step ahead of every other Rapids player, which is often just as bad as being a step behind.

Martín Rivero, MF: 4.5
Rivero doesn’t look like the #10 the Rapids thought he would be. Rivero’s creative play isn’t translating well to MLS so far, though it’s hard to write him off after only a few games in Rapids Burgundy. Rivero’s frustration finally boiled over as he slapped D.C. United player Perry Kitchen’s hand away late in the game after a foul, a transgression for which Rivero picked up a yellow card.

Tony Cascio, FWD: 5.5
A few dangerous touches and left-footed shots from Cascio as he streaked up the sides of the field, but the timing with Casey just hasn’t found its way onto the pitch so far.

Conor Casey, FWD: 6
Casey’s best work comes from 18+ yards as he holds play up with the ball for attacking midfielders and his other forward partner to come to the ball or make plays. Casey did that tonight, playing 65 minutes and looking fresh throughout, but without Cummings or a similarly paced speedster, Casey holds the ball up just to drop it into the midfield with little danger.

Substitutes:

Kamani Hill, MF: 6
Why doesn’t Hill start? He showed with his runs and creativity that he is a step above all other players on the field save for United’s De Rosario and Salihi. Substituted for Mullan at the half, Hill should be a permanent part of coach Oscar Pareja’s plans for the foreseeable future now that he is up to speed.

Edu, FWD: 4.5
Came on for Conor Casey after 65 minutes for his first appearance with the Rapids. Though he struggled to get into the play, Rapids fans will closely watch his progression with great interest.

Daniel was first introduced to soccer at age 6 while living in Düsseldorf, West Germany. He played youth soccer in West Germany until age 9, and then in Seattle, where he is originally from. He works as the day breaking news editor and also contributes on the Rapids beat.